Reviews

Driving Impression

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You can still hear the high-strung engine in the Premium, thanks to subtle rumble of the titanium exhaust. The twin turbos create a jet-like whine mixed with a low howl. The GT-R doesn’t have the refined scream of a Ferrari 458 Italia, or the deep burble of a Shelby GT500. It’s between these and quieter.

Speaking of jet-like, the GT-R is quicker than some supercars costing twice as much. Its top speed is 196 miles per hour. It’s so fast that the driving experience can feel like a video game, except bad things happen when you crash.

It’s a brilliant road car as well as an awesome track-day car. The firm ride can be programmed to be fairly forgiving, in Comfort mode, making it a nice highway cruiser.

The steering is relatively light at low speeds, quick but without the need to make small corrections at highway speeds. The paddle-shifting is sharp and crisp. The all-wheel drive varies torque from 100 percent to the rear to 50/50, depending on tire slip, steering angle, lateral acceleration, yaw rate, road surface, speed.

The GT-R has adjustable suspension, transmission, and stability-control settings to make it work as a commuter car. But in R for Race mode, it’s a life-changing experience. You push the GT-R into long corners at triple-digit speeds, and feel almost relaxed as it handles the curve without effort. When it’s time to slow down for a hairpin, the big Brembo brakes, six pistons in front and four in rear, do the job.

The traction control is easy to use. Set all three to Race, depress the brake pedal, floor the accelerator, and the engine hovers at 4500 rpm. Release the brake and the car launches with a slight squeal of the tires. Power is distributed to the tires with the best grip.

Pushed to its handling limits on a racetrack, the GT-R tends to understeer, a trait we noticed at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. With the throttle down, the rear can slide into power oversteer but it’s controllable. Cornering grip is outstanding.

The huge brakes feel firm as they slow the car at a mesmerizing rate, and we did not experience fade during repeated hard use.

Walk Around

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The GT-R only looks like a supercar at second or third glance. You can tell it’s special, but it doesn’t say Lamborghini. With its jagged and bulky luxury coupe outline, it could be mistaken for a kit car, with boisterous fender flares, deeply scooped air intakes, and a comically large rear wing. It all looks like anime armor, definitely including the roofline’s tomahawk slice that chops into the rear end.

Cars like the Porsche, Mercedes, and Ferrari or Lamborghini are unmistakable. The GT-R is overlookable. It looks best in dark graphite, a color that comes off subtle on the GT-R. A large Nissan V-Motion mesh grille has a matte finish. A chin spoiler and bumper add downforce, while the hood has pronounced character lines. The 20-inch wheels are a 15-spoke design.

The beltline is raised and rocker panels are bulged a bit for aerodynamics. The rear end has functional vents next to the quad exhaust outlets and under the bumper that provides good airflow at high speed. Nissan says the GT-R’s 0.26 coefficient of drag helps keep it stable at high speed.

Interior Overview

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The cabin is refined to the level of an Infiniti. The instrument panel on the horizontal dashboard is wrapped in Nappa leather, with 11 buttons (until 2017 there was a bewildering 27 buttons). The center touchscreen is 8.0 inches, and there is a Display Command control for NissanConnect on the center console. In 2017 the paddle shifters were moved to the steering wheel from the steering column, so they can be used in the turns.

The seats have good comfort and support. There’s good room in front, while the rear seat is fine for two kids, limited for adults more by lack of headroom than legroom. There’s good trunk space. A rearview camera is standard, and necessary, as the thick rear pillars block the rearward visibility.

In 2017 the cabin was made much quieter, with more sound deadening material, an acoustic glass windshield, and the noise cancellation system that’s now only on the Premium model. Wind noise is present, but not too intrusive.

Summary

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In bang for the buck, only the Corvette ZO6 beats the GT-R. But we define bang narrowly, as in performance-only. The GT-R looks powerful, but the styling is not bang-inducing.